Preparing a strategy statement for the next three years for the Department of Agriculture and Food was extremely challenging, according to the secretary general of the Department, Mr John Malone.
Launching the document yesterday, Mr Malone said despite the changes which may come from the reform of the Common Agricultural Policy, the basics would have to remain.
"Our mission is to lead the sustainable development of a competitive, consumer focused agri-food sector and to contribute to a vibrant rural economy and society," said Mr Malone.
Value for money, he said, was at the core of the future as the budgets for running Government have got "very tight".
The Department's mandate was to support the maximum number of farm families and rural households and to compete successfully in international markets. It was also to be consumer-focused, to value and respect the rural environment, offer rural dwellers attractive livelihoods and to promote efficient and sustainable farming practices.
He said that while rural development had gone from the Department it was generally accepted that rural development could not exist if no farming was being carried on in a rural area
The Department, he said, administered 300 individual schemes and had been developing new systems using modern technology to do this. Its staffing level was now at 4,500 people and 200 of these were involved in policy matters.
He said that 2,200 were involved in food safety and production, 1,400 in the agricultural payments sector and a further 700 were involved in corporate development.
The Department of Agriculture, Mr Malone added, was one of the most decentralised staffs in the Civil Service with 75 per cent of them located outside Dublin.
Because it was a large staff, a human resources strategy was produced in 2002 following extensive consultation at partnership level. He said EU enlargement would create challenges and opportunities for Irish agriculture as would the outcome of the world trade negotiations.
For staff in the Department, there would be a major job to do from the end of this year when Ireland took over the EU Presidency.